#something something film theory (i dumb so ignore this)

[team-frightfur]

👻

The blues lean towards green (which is not found in natural lighting and therefore slightly less comforting) and flanked by brownish yellows in the brick and walls (which adds a gross, grungy, and waste-y feel. It reminds one of dirt and filth)

Oh, and Yamibaku also has GREAT anatomy. The slightly too long neck and arms, the claw hands, the wide eyes that are just barely peeking out, the stiff upper body that has twisted unstable legs -it all comes together into a really uncanny 'not right' sense. He looks almost like a hanged man. It's perfect, really works well as a homage/original piece. Baku's realistic anatomy also fits in perfectly with a teen/prestige horror flick.

Then, the PSA adds the perfect finishing touch. You have to read it so the horror of the implication dawns on you slowly like a horror movie. It has a very creepy feeling (in the sense that understanding creeps up).

And then, at long last, you do it. You connect the reversed text of the safety psa with the reversed text of the exit sign and the true horror hits you. Tix, tickets, the indecision of what to do with your dream tickets, the inevitable expiration of dream tickets, the absolute despair. Truly, only a ygo player could depict this fear and, obviously, only a yugioh player could appreciate it.

Bravo. I never wanna look at a main box again.

Oh, and this pic tastes like cockroaches.

:)

[bekolxeram]

honestly idk about you but I loooved the first episode. it was amazing. but I realised I got my hopes up so much in regards to how heavily Tommy is going to be involved in the plane disaster and now I'm pretty sure he's going to be barely in it and icl I'm so disappointed. not with the show and the writers, but with myself 🥲 I guess I wanted to see Tommy in danger a little, perhaps not to the same extent as Athena but in danger nonetheless, ahh 😅 but I'm sure 8x02 and 8x03 are gonna eat either way! I really can't wait to see what they came up with

I absolutely loved it! It hits a nice balance of everything: humor, thrill, frustration, horror, warmth. It's nicely paced and generally a very fun watch. I mentioned last season that the BuckTommy dinner scene in 7x10 felt a bit awkward because they writers seemed to be cramping a lot of information as a setup for S8 in less than a minute. 8x01 managed to catch up with the personal lives of all the mains, foreshadow the obstacles they're going to face, and set up the opening disaster in a few short scenes.

The whole perfume launch call sequence? Chef's kiss. Buck's eureka moment? Buck chasing after Eddie with a few more squirts of perfume? Eddie running in laps around the pool to distract the bees with Flight of the Bumblebee in the background? Monty the beekeeper? Comedy gold.

Don't be so hard on yourself! Isn't part of the fun speculating and imagining what's going to happen on the show? You have your theory, I have mine, the show is most likely going to do a completely different third thing. Think about it, when has the show let us down ever since Tommy's reintroduction? We keep making wrong predictions, but the writers keep giving us something unexpected yet somehow better. Remember we all thought Tommy would rescue Chimney and fly him to the wedding in 7x06? Well, he didn't make his hero entrance, he was just busy fighting a wildfire, but he rushed to the hospital especially for Buck, no one else.

Airport 1975 is very... 70s, I don't think the exact plot would work in 2024 without some major tweaking. The flight attendant managing to keep the plane flying doesn't get nearly enough credit for that, instead the script frames her ex-boyfriend, the flight instructor who repels into the cockpit and lands the plane as the hero. (And everyone from her ex to ATC keeps calling her honey every 3 minutes and talking to her like she's dumb. I'm so glad 8x01 takes a jab at that in its first scene.) Needless to say I'm not a huge fan of the film, other than that big sexy 747 in the classic American Airlines bare metal livery. I hope the 911 remake of that will involve more team work and female pilots.

Such a beauty. Unfortunately I was born too late to see it with my own eyes.

Tommy can still very much be in danger.🙈Whether you believe Tommy can fly a giant airliner or not, he's definitely trained in fighting aircraft fire. It's dangerous, a lot of stuff can suddenly explode. Firefighters have been injured and killed in post crash landing explosions. (Expert in fighting fire with an aircraft AND fighting fire on an aircraft, geez Tommy, leave some expertise for the rest of us.) He might not be the hero who singlehandedly saves everyone in 8x02 and 8x03, but I believe he will be involved in the rescue in some capacity. I mean, it's an airport and the 217 truck is right there.

Feel free to ignore everything I said, anon. Ultimately, we still have fanfiction, so keep playing around with ideas, keep writing, keep reading and have fun!

[louislovesdilfs]

Homesick (part 2)

Happy 60th Doctor Who anniversary! how could I not release the second part of this fic today, this is a bit long but I hope you'll enjoy it anyway.

sources: MatPat (film theory) and r/gallifrey on reddit (it was a debate so I took informations from different people and kind of mixed them together to work with something reliable,sort of)

pairing: 9th/10th Doctor x male!reader

please dont take anything I say about Doctor Who universe for canon, this may or may not be true, some of these are just theories, take them as such.

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"I told you I didn't like him, right?" Y/n says getting in the TARDIS, he sits on the yellow seats near the console lookin at Rose tilting his head a little, The Doctor chuckles as he watches the young man teasing Rose.

"oh please Y/n, just admit you were jelous" she scoffs teasing him back, they're talking about Rose new 'Boyfriend' Adam, he turned out to be as dumb as a donkey...no poor donkey he is as dumb as a rock.

"jelous? of that guy? tsk" he says almost offended by Rose's statement, he wasn't jelous, jelous of what? Rose? yea right...she's like his little sister, she looks a lot like his actual sister...or how she would look like now...anyway The Doctor flirts with Rose too and it doesn't bother him, it does bother him when The Doctor flirts with anybody else but that's totally unrelated.

"got all defensive now have you?" she teases him with a victory smirk on her face, Y/n tho ignores her turning to The Doctor who's grinning while messing with the console.

"Y/n is right tho, he got a hole in his head." The Doctor points out, Y/n smiles at him and they bump fists as Rose sighs

"two against one, so unfair" she says as the two men laugh looking at each other.

----

"is that a good idea?" Y/n asks genuinely concerned, Rose wants to see her father when he was still alive, she wants to witness his death, legit of course but absolutely not a good idea.

"I just want to know how he was." she says, a but of sadness in her voice,

"I'm not judging you, it's jus- it's ok watching your parents' wedding but witness his death?" Y/n says again, he knows about witnessing a parent death and it's not great, definitely not something he wants to repeat

"how would you know?" Rose doesn't actually snap at him, it's a genuine question born from his concern, he looks away not wanting to answer at first so The Doctor interrupts them

"he's just worried, and so am I Rose" The Doctor says resting a hand on Y/n's shoulder, the man probably understood, he can see Y/n's been trough something and doesn't want to share, after all The Doctor does the same thing.

"I want to see him." she says firmly, Y/n and The Doctor let out a defeated sigh

"your wish is my comand, just be careful what you wish for" The Doctor says pressing some buttons.

As Y/n predicted things went terribly, Rose did manage to adjust the mess she made anyway, the three are silently walking to The TARDIS but Rose is looking at Y/n and then at The Doctor who shifts his gaze from the floor to her and then him before shaking his head lightly at Rose.

"Y/n" she calls turning to him ignoring The Doctor

"yes?" he turns to her not suspecting anything

"do you have a family?" she asks, rightfully Y/n thinks, they both oepend up, The Doctor talked about the Time War and his planet, Rose made them witness her father's death and in general they always tell some stories from their past, Y/n doesn't, it did make the both of them curious even if The Doctor didn't want to admit it.

"once." he sighs and he is thinking about stopping there but seeing the curious gaze of his friends makes him give in.

"we were four, my dad, he was a lawyer, worked until his last day on earth, my sister...she...she was so sweet, she looked like you Rose.." he says looking at her, she did look like her sister, it was painful yet beutiful in his eyes.

"she disappeared, probably kidnapped." he says but his ideas on the matter where slightly different, he could ask The Doctor to go back just to have the answers but he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to know if she's dead. He wants to keep hoping.

"my mother died when I was 7, she died in front of me, she wanted to help a poor man on the road, he then tried to kiss her and she rejected him, he gave her 50 stabs, I was there, I witnessed it all. He wasn't a poor man and she wasn't his first victm. The police didn't arrive on time and he was running away. I grab his knife and- " he stops, his hands closed in fists as his eyes are holding back tears. The Doctor brushes his knuckles and holds his hand as soon as Y/n lets him. Rose looks at the two men hesitating before hugging Y/n, she didn't want to ruin the moment between the two.

"he will stay on a wheelchair for the rest of his life." he says looking at The Doctor and holding his hand tightly as he rests the other on Rose's shoulders accepting the hug. After a while she lets go of him and the three enter The TARDIS but she notices, the two men are still holding hands, they're sharing a grief, both of them are alone in this world, the look in their eyes is similar, Rose sees it, do they?

-----

to be honest all the time Y/n wasted flirting with Jack gave him something else to thinks about even if that would mean having the burning stare of The Doctor on his neck. His mind was repeating the same things, over and over: there is no escape, they're all going to die, what if Rose gets turned in one of them? what if The Doctor is the one? can't go home without him, they're going to be stuck there, forever, die like this, being emptied out...what a pathetic way to die. He wakes up from his thoughts, the group is not far from him still they sound distant, maybe cause he's not paying attention to them, something in the room feels wrong, something is off even if it's hard to recall what precisely. He sees it tho, after a few minutes, the little boy behind her, it's too late to yell at them to run, it's too late to warn Rose but something makes Y/n's legs move as fast as they could putting himself between Rose and the kid, he feels the touch of the tuny hand and the only thing he can do now is turn to face the others,

"Run" Y/n says with a pale face, what an idiot he is, sacrifice himself, the thought of it almost makes him chuckle,

"Y/n-" Rose tries to say something but the young man shakes his head interrupting her,

"no, I won't let that happen again. Go. it was good while it lasted." that's all he can say, the thing is pushing in his throat, it draws blood as it makes its way to the surface, it hurts, it's all so painful, he shuts his mouth trying to hold back the infamous words he feels in his throat; he helds back tears too, Y/n doesn't want them to see him that vulnerable, it's so pathetic. He couldn't let Rose die, he couldn't let that happen, not again, she...not her, not now.

"You're not going to die, Y/n, that's a promise" The Doctor says in a deadly serious tone, he looks mad, maybe at himself for allowing this to happen.

"go..m-mom-" Y/n falls to his knees before the complete dark, he doesn't see anything, he feels his body moving but has no control of it, that is his end, that's where he will stay for the rest of eternity but then a familiar voice brings him back to reality.

"Y/n!" Rose says as the young man opens his eyes,

"Rose? what?" he asks puzzled, he looks at her as she smiles widely. Rose pulls him in a tight hug and he allows her to do so, he's happy she's okay and apparently he is too. The Doctor joins the hug too as Y/n hugs him even tighter, The Doctor laughs shaking his hand in Y/n's hair messing them up a bit.

"you thought you lost me didn't you?" Y/n asks smiling at the man, the smile was genuine, The Doctor stares at the young man for a while thinking how complicated this guy is, there are worlds to discover in Y/n, worlds.

"you doubted me didn't you?" he asks offended but still smiling, his smile is wide, he's so happy to see Y/n again, he did think he lost him for a second,

"answer a question with a question?" he shots back looking in The Doctor's eyes with a cheeky smirk,

"avoiding to answer the question?" both of them laugh leaving Rose in confusion,

---

"oh god oh shit!" Y/n says looking at the glass bridge, he is in some sort of game he doesn't remember how he got in or when he just know he is there, he needs to play to survive, squid game style, indeed the game he needs to play is exactly like the one in the show, 18 sets of pannels, the players have to jump on one of them and hope the glass they jumped on is the tempered one, if not they fall dying, Y/n hates the game, it's generally decided by random coin flips, worst case scenario we have 18 deaths, best case scenario 0 deaths but the chances are more than just low.

The chances for the first in line to get everything right are 1 in 262.144 wich gives and average of 9 deaths, meaning: first 6 people are screwed with less than 5% chance of survival while going 13th and later the chances grow to 95% or better. Y/n knows it, it doesn't take long to do the math, he chooses his number, 13, he's the 13th in line the game for him goes smoothly but he will always remember the screams he heard while the other fell in the nothingness. Once on the other side the bridge explodes and all the pieces of glass hit Y/n everywhere leaving him tiny cuts all over, he is a bloody mess and as soon as The Doctor rescues him he notice the lucid eyes of his.

"you ok?" he asks brushing the other man's hand in a caring way, Y/n doesn't answer, he just nods. lies.

Later on, The Doctor, Rose and Y/n are on floor 500, as Rose's speaks

"suppose" she says and The Doctor turns to her

"what?" he asks, Y/n turns to her too, hoping she has a good idea

"nothing" she shakes her head still thinking

"c'mon Rose, spit it out" Y/n sighs, his face still covered in tiny cuts and bruises bleading from some of them.

"No, I was just thinking. I mean, obviously you can't, but, you've got a time machine. Why can't you just go back to last week and warn them?" she says, The Doctor and Y/n both shake their head, it was a nice try, not good enough but nice.

"As soon as the Tardis lands in that second, I become part of events, stuck in the timeline." The Doctor explains but then he rants about something, it isn't clear to Y/n even if he can understand half the things he says, he learns fast and really smart but yet something about this Delta Wave and crossing his own timeline seems off and wrong, too late to understand it tho, the TARDIS starts to move Y/n rushes to the door before it closes shut but they don't lead where Y/n wishes, a vortex is what he finds, he falls in it as he hears Rose shouting his name and then the TARDIS door closing.

Y/n risked his life tons of time with The Doctor, he did always end up alive tho, The Doctor was such a brilliant man, it didn't last as long as Y/n wished; that's what his mind thinks before the pain, he's falling while the time winds shred his body, the pain is excruciating, he can't scream, he can't cry, he can't even breath; the air is stuck in his lungs while all his body gets older, he can feel his organs failing, but it gets also younger, his cells go back to when they were born. His body tries to heal itself as fast as it can, it borns and dies a countless amount of times.

His mind sees everything, every point in history, he's there. He has always been there. His brain gains informations it shouldn't get, too much he feels it melt, it isn't tho, no, no it is expanding itself in a painful process, as slow as it is quick. Time is relative, past, present, future...and then the end. He's back, a gold light makes him come back, it's like his heart beats twice, his chest hurts, his head hurts, his eyes are complitely red, blood is where is supposed to be white, he sees The Doctor, his Doctor kissing Rose...she's alive, he's alive...Y/n closes his eyes but a smile is formed on his lips as a tear runs down his cheek before the dark.

When his eyes open he is inside of the TARDIS, Rose is on the ground, alive but probably unconscious, The Doctor is near the console shining in the same gold light, Y/n understands something is going to change, his mind is still hurting him but that doesn't stop him from standing up ignoring the pain in his body.

"Y/n, oh you're so stubborn, you couldn't just stay in the TARDIS huh?" The Doctor says while his hands glow, it's not as pretty as before, it looks wrong.

"you're dying are you?" he says looking at the man's hand, The Doctor smiles shaking his head

"Timelords regenerate, we change appearance to cheat death, It's the last time you're seeing me with this face, Y/n" he says looking at the young man, he's looking at him like this will be the last time he will be able to do it, Y/n gets closer but The Doctor steps back telling him to stop, Y/n doesn't, he gets closer to the man touching his cheek with his right hand, no words are spoken between the two, just an understanding look, a stolen kiss, quick, meaningless.

Rose wakes up in time for The Doctor's goodbye, a burst of golden light and then a new face, he surely looks handsome, messy hair, cheeky smile, he's good looking for sure.

"where was I? ah yes..Barcellona!"

♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤♤

as everyone is celebrating the Sycorax leaving Y/n feels like he already saw it, he knoes something is wrong as he looks at The Doctor faking a smile to avoid ruining the moment, but Y/n can't lie to The Doctor, he always seems to see right trough his lies sometimes. He gets closer looking at the young man

"what?" he asks, new voice, new accent...it's difficult for Y/n to see his Doctor in this man

"something is about to happen" and as he says that the Sycorax spaceship explodes attacked by 5 green beams that steak up in the sky

"what is that? what's happening?" Rose asks as her smile disappears quickly, Y/n stares at Harriet with fire in his eyes, not thinking about why he knew something was coming, it doesn't matter now, he feels his blood boil as he he grits his teeth before speaking in a very low voice

"they killed them." he says and then turns to The Doctor, the man sees the fury in Y/n's eyes but understands it, he shares the same anger, Y/n whispers something to The Doctor and he nods getting closer to Harriet's assistant, five words, and she's done. 

"Oh, it's beautiful. What are they, meteors?" Rose asks looking at the sky,

The Doctor dressed up with a brown suit and a long coat on top, he's wearing white converse which Y/n, who loves sandshoes, appreciates about this new Doctor,

" It's the spaceship breaking up in the atmosphere. This isn't snow, it's ash." he explains looking at the sky as well

Y/n stays behind, watching the two of them, he listens to the conversation, he doesn't want to interrupt them, he doesn't want to be the third wheel really,

"Well, back to the Tardis. Same old life." he says looking at Rose

" On your own?" she asks biting her nail a but unsure about his answer, Y/n scoffs silently, of course not, look at him, the man is lost.

"Why, don't you want to come?" The Doctor asks her raising his eyebrows

"Well, yeah." she says and in that moment Y/n interrupts leaning against the TARDIS

"I'm invited too right? just checking" he asks crossing his arms

"I'd love for the both of you to come" The Doctor says looking at Y/n and then at Rose, she takes Y/n hand dragging him near them, and then she takes The Doctor's too, they start pointing at the stars asking in which direction they should go, wherever will do, for the first time ever Y/n is actually feeling good about something.

[jonathanrogersartist]

Anyone else irritated by how both the lovers and haters of The Last Jedi seem to totally miss the point of the ending of Luke's storyline in that film? Haters ignore that Luke redeems himself for his mistakes and goes out with an epic final act that reaffirms the value of mythic stories and why we need heroes, and thus is an explicitly pro-Jedi moral. So Luke's whole story is about him rejecting the cynicism of old age and failure, and snaps out of that insufferable attitude that tries to paint all sides as equally bastardly. It's a story about WHY the fundamental ethos of Star Wars, the dichotomy of genuine good vs absolute evil represented by the Jedi as avatars of ultimate love, and the Sith/Snoke/Whatever as avatars of ultimate hate, is eternally relevant and something we need for spiritual nourishment during dark times. And.... the lovers ignore this too. They tend to latch onto Luke's bitter words from earlier in the movie about how the Jedi were a corrupt and hypocritical institution that needs to end. These kinds of people are passionately anti-Jedi, and LOOOOOOOOOOVE that for a few minutes, a canon SW movie was saying that they all suck. They also unironically take Kylo Ren's 'let the past die' mantra at face value and think that THIS is the moral of that movie. They look at the messages of past Star Wars with a kind of preening disgust, seeing it as childish and one-note at best, damaging and corrupting for society at large, at worst. It is what I'm going to call 'Knight Templar Syndrome.' I speculate that they think old things are automatically dumb or ignorant or worthless, and can only see it through the lens of 'how can I make this so irredeemably problematic in my brain, so that my rejection of it is therefore morally right, and makes me feel like a great person?' So of course, the Jedi as a representation of the wisdom and value of certain 'traditions' were doomed to be targeted by such transparently performative people. And for the first two hours of TLJ, these fans were having the time of their fuckin life. I am also pretty sure I've seen some posts where they take Yoda's words at the burning tree extremely literally, and think that entire scene is also about the need to destroy the past (the literal burning imagery does kinda give this impression at face-value, to be fair), and that Yoda's advice to Luke is "Move forward and never look back," when he is ACTUALLY saying "Move forward with all that you have learned, the good and bad, and make sure the good parts live on." It's little wonder then, that TLJ diehards are completely convinced that Rise of Skywalker ignored/insulted/changed everything about their darling. If they thought Last Jedi was about the need for an ideological scorched-earth, only to then watch Rise be about the reconciliation of the past with the future, then yup, their vicious reaction to it, rife with conspiracy theories, demonization of JJ and Terrio, etc. makes sense.

[redheadlesbianfreak]

I know that I'm a little late to the James Somerton thing but I wanted to make my own post about this. I started watching James when I was 20 during the pandemic. It made me feel comforted to watch someone talk about queer theory in film, especially because I found out so many films I never heard about. His stuff did make me very passionate about queer history as well, and led me to start seeking more of it. I took a queer literature class in University (one of my fav classes) and I started watching more queer creators.

I grew up in Texas and Mississippi (the Deep South) in a pretty conservative environment. I started to break free of that in middle school and high school, though I was still very ignorant. I think I knew I was queer for a long time, but it took me a while to come out. I felt that I was around queer people who were somewhat hostile and wouldn't believe me. This is because I identified as ace for a little while. People were either actively hostile about that or they acted like it was a dumb identity that didn't matter. I also don't know if I'm cis or not, all I know is that I really relate to the experiences of the trans community.

I kept watching James' stuff over the years. I fell for the hole "academic queer" vibe. He talked so much about queer erasure that I thought he cared deeply about it. I felt connected to the queer community when I watched his content. He talked about trans and sapphic experiences so I thought he cared about that--turns out he stole all of that. All my favorite videos of his were stolen, word for word, from queer writers. All of the passion, all of the great writing, that was stolen. I thought I was watching someone who cared about queer history, but he was actively erasing it and harming other creators.

There were some things that I noticed. He mentioned the indie movie studio and I thought that was weird. I thought his Attack on Titan video was extremely weird and made a lot of non-points. I also remember disagreeing with a lot of it because he just said a bunch of nothing. I thought that it was weird he mainly talked about mainstream culture (Disney, MCU, etc.) rather than less well known pieces of queer media. And there were quite a few videos I didn't watch because there were so many of them (not sure how I didn't suspect that he was a content mill). Some of his videos were incredibly intriguing (because he stole good writing) while others were boring, so there was a lot of inconsistency.

I'm incredibly pissed at this man, and it's hard not to be pissed at myself. I didn't watch every single video by this dude, but I did watch enough. I think that I have a lot to examine about myself when it comes to picking up racism/misogyny/transphobia. Especially when he dressed up all his points to be "progressive" and "academic." I didn't pick up on things like "bad vibes" from this man. I'm not really sure what bad vibes even look like? I also didn't pick up on the fact that his writing style constantly changed. Even with all the strange shit, I still gave him the benefit of the doubt because he was queer and that was way too trusting and that's something I need to work on.

As for the misogyny thing, especially when it comes to queer women and trans/AFAB people. He said a lot of blatantly lesbophobic, biphobic, and transphobic things while downplaying the experiences of everyone who wasn't a cis gay. What James was saying about women in his videos is how a lot of people talk about queer women in the queer community. Especially in fandom spaces. Misogyny is so rampant on the Internet that it can be hard for me to pick up on it as a queer woman. So many people talk about how lesbians want every female character to be gay or how bisexual women are "fujoshis" constantly trying to fetishize gay men.

I hope this makes sense, but it feels like I'm being gaslit when it comes to misogyny because of how often I see it. It's hard for me to tell if I'm being oversensitive or if someone is actually being misogynistic to me. So many progressive men that I trusted have been misogynistic to me and that can be a lot. James was someone I trusted and defended. I even recommended him to people. It's something I'm still disappointed in myself for doing, but I'd like to think I've grown as a queer person since watching his channel. There are so many great queer creators out there and I definitely need to make a recommendation list in the near future.

[sunflowerandstrawberryspice]

Ninjago as thing said at my school

Some of these are based off the faux interviews we did as a gag for theater, we filmed each other doing different shit and pretended it was a documentary/interview(I got to be the interviewer for most of em aside from the bio one which is where I was being filmed) Interviewer Cole: How do you feel about gay people Jay: uh... glad at least someone's happy? Nya: Wrong kind of gay Jay Jay: Shit Interviewer Lloyd: There are some theories you got the lead only because you're tall how do you feel about this? Zane: Ma'am I'm on tech?

Pixal: *doing a bio project* And now all I have to do is... son of a bitch Her totally knowledgeable project partner Kai: that's never a good sound Pixal: That's it I'm fucking quitting, I'm just gonna take the L and just fucking fail bio Kai: *looking right into the camera whispering* so we're doomed Pixal: I'm just gonna dislocate my brain and cease existing Cameraman Cole: If I understood what was going on I would probably suggest something, alas I'm dumb so I'm gonna call Zane (My big bio project is not going well)

Lloyd: I may be cringe but I'm also free unlike someone Jay: At least I look like a respectable mamber of scociety Kai: no you don't, give up

Cole: So finals are coming up, you know what that means? Zane: Studying Cole: Mental breakdowns *Him and literally all the other ninja fist bump*

Kai: I'm so hot that people ignore my crippling parental issues Jay literally trying to eat a sandwich: No, they notice Nya: Join the club buckaroo Lloyd: I'm sorry bucka-what?

[lol-jackles]

https://x.com/NataRomanovaBW/status/1800415674688553408

You have fans!! lol. The whole above thread right til she calls you crazy here:

https://x.com/NataRomanovaBW/status/1800428808186872271

I guess they are ignoring that originally (on production sites) it was listed as filming April 8, 2024 - August 22, 2024.

Do they think you pulled those dates out of your ass? I literally have a screenshot with the working title and everything lol. Just because THEY aren't informed, doesn't mean we aren't.

And they did push back GenV filming (only slightly) after Chance's death so it's possible TB got pushed back as well, but they were originally scheduled to film pretty much concurrently - probably so they can have crossovers, tie together storylines, etc. while they have ALL the cast in one location for shooting vs filming them at different times and calling back cast to film cameos. So more than likely even if TB filming got pushed back as well, they are still probably back right now. These people forget exactly how tightlipped TB filming is (and no, I don't mean no phones on set, they very very clearly have phones on set) and they aren't even really allowed to straight up say they are working on the show or show things from the show.

The huge thing they are ignoring is that maybe the reason Karl is filming something different is because he either isn't in s5 or is in s5 in a limited capacity. His new movie is an Amazon production as well, so they obviously allowed him to do it and the schedules are clearly ok with them.

Of course these are the same people who think SB/Jensen is the star of TB with a whole 12 minutes screentime and now an unconscious cameo in s4!

Link and Link. Everything you say is likely true, regarding why the casts are told to be quiet since their presence (or lack of it) in season 5 could be major spoilers for season 4 when it premiers in 2 days and it's finale on July 18.

Some fans will stalk sets to see if particular actors are seen on set, which will give them clues if the actors' characters live or not in upcoming episodes. Some studios attempt to circumvent these fans by having actors show up on sets as decoys when their characters are actually not in the episode. Games of Thrones were known to apply this tactic, but it's often not used because it cost money to hire and transport decoys.

Anyways, I just posted The Boys S5 film schedule from ProductionList to help AAs stop giving themselves funny aneurysm. AAs and hellers work in organized groups that function like a call-center set up to manipulate the conversation by inundating forums and social media with conspiracy theories that are conveniently not based on fact but feelings.  Perfect for cult leaders like Goob, so he just slid right in as “one of them” and manipulate the conversation with even bigger and wilder conspiracy theories. When even AAs/hellers were doubting Goob's words, he says they’re too dumb to understand what he writes, especially when his writings contradict himself.  So he writes even bigger and wilder conspiracy theories.

Remember kids, your vibe attracts your tribe. There is a very good reason why you never/rarely see such psychotic behavior from Jared's fans.

[operation-penguin]

So I was looking up why the heck would KJ leave his beloved peeps to join the zoo (cuz I didn’t really understand that as a kid either) and I found a lotta explanations but this one struck me??

Now am confusion

So among the fandom the general opinion is that tpom is a separate universe, an au of sorts.

ahkj and the movies (+specials) can all be reasonably fit into a timeline, but tpom just can't be put anywhere. During the first movie, the penguins want to escape so why would they go back to the zoo in tpom? Also, they don't meet King Julien until they arrive at the island, there's no it could take place before the movies. Also also there's no way King Julien could have left Madagascar (unless Timo or smart Mort helped him, but why would they do that lol) until the penguins met him.

Something that always struck me is the use of language while referring to the gods in the lemur's pantheistic religion. During ahkj they are the "sky gods" and the movies (if I remember correctly) simply just "gods". But in tpom they're only referred to as "sky spirits", and although "god" and "spirit" are used in the same way I think it's worth pointing out as it's another thing to add to the list of discrepancies. So with those 2 points in mind, it's a reasonable assumption to say that tpom is separate from the main timeline. Different voice actors could also be taken into account but that's more meta, so I'll leave that up to you if you want to count that as major point number 3.

In my opinion, the multiverse theory seems to be the most logical interpretation, especially with the knowledge of a multiverse already being cannon in both tpom and ahkj.

With that said I do not like it, my head cannon (aka the timeline I used for my fic) goes as follows: AHKJ -> mada 1, 2, 3 (+specials) -> tpom (tpom movie is not real I am ignoring it). Basically everything is the same as cannon, except at the end of mada 3, KJ and friends have no idea how to get home and the penguins just kinda go "aw fuck it, let's make out base at the zoo." And since the penguins are staying King Julien, Maurice, and Mort (the sweetest baby boy sugar bottom sweet pea angle), all are stuck in New York and just decided to make the best of it. This could also explain why King Julien is more of a cunt in tpom. I love him but he's more problematic than Mort, the way he's written is so ignorant and uncaring compared to ahkj. It could be argued that unlike ahkj he's not the main character, but to me it feels so dramatically different. His shift in personality could be due to loss of control of his life, he simply cannot return to his peeps, so now he's bitter and has just accepted the zoo life. This of course also effects Maurice and Mort, but more so Maurice who is treated less as a friend and more as a servent (not always tho, they still have sweet moments), Mort is basically treated the same in all versions of cannon.

But there's another inconsistency that needs to be addressed: the penguins of Madagascar movie (tpom movie). I'm at a loss with this movie. Not only is it my second least favorite (right under mada 3 for obvious reasons), but it makes no sense. Ignoring all my issues with it and focusing on lore, where the fuck does this fit in??

The wiki claims that it takes place after mada 3 but this doesn't track. The penguins are shown as kids and presented in this found family kind of light, which is sweet.... But they aren't themselves in my opinion. Skipper is way to much of a dumb ass, it's like he just can't be bothered to give a shit, they make private a fucking baby incapable of doing anything on his own until the end of the movie, and Rico/Kowalski are just there????? If you watch the first 3 movies and follow it up with tpom movie, none of the penguins behave the same. I just hate them so much in this film. Mada 3 and tpom movie fucked up everyone's personality. In mada 1-3 the penguins are shown as more of a military like squad, still found family but not as gushy and sugary sweet. Operation Penguin (game boy game from 2005 showing the events of mada 1 through private's pov) delivers a more accurate portrayal of these fucking birds than their own movie. They're just a group of 4 penguins that work together and love eachother but not in the big dramatic gushy way like tpom movie shows.

BUT WAIT. HAHAHAHAHAH. This isn't over. In Operation penguin, there are more inconsistencies. Gonna just make a list:

1. King Julien has no crown

2. Private is aware of at least one of his blood relatives (his father, Sam Fishy. Meaning Private's full name is "Private Fishy")

3. Private is sent to defeat the foosa ALONE

4. Maurice is missing, King Julien and Mort are the only 2 lemurs shown in the game

5. Kowalski ALSO knows at least one blood relative (cousin Jeffrey)

6. Number 2 and 5 imply that half of the penguins have memories of being in Antarctica. If private hatched on the iceberg in mada 3 he woULDN'T FUCKING KNOW WHO HIS DAD IS AND HE WOWULLF. RBD. GFH KS M EV B , ...,.ZZMS..E. E

In conclusion, any media that is Penguin centric can't fit into mainstream cannon, so believe whatever the fuck your heart tells you to. Most probable is that Movies + specials + ahkj, tpom, topm movie, and Operation penguin (and other games probably) are all parallel alternative universes only available to us through Mort's ability to transcend beyond one universe.

Btw Kowalski likes soap operas.

Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.

[giggly-squiggily]

The So-Called Monster Hunter (Blue Lock)

Muahahaha, I've done it! I've finished the Lee!Isagi fic! :D It only took *looks at calender*...We're not gonna talk about that. *Throws it over shoulder* Heyo everyone! Blue Lock- as always- has my heart in a chokehold, so I'm embracing it with some good ol' Bachisagi! They've taken my heart and ran with it, so might as well put them in a fic! I hope you like it :D

Summary: While watching a horror movie, Isagi makes a rather bold claim. Bachira decides to test that theory."

“She’s gonna die.” Isagi shook his head with a click of his tongue as the woman on screen raced up the stairs, completely ignoring the front door. “She’s only further trapping herself in. Unless she plans on jumping off the balcony, she’s a goner.”

“You sound like you have it all figured out- how you’d avoid the serial killer.” Bachira smiled from his spot across Isagi’s lap, head against his thighs as the other played with his hair. It was a slow night, so they decided to watch a movie. Why they picked such a cheesy horror film was beyond Bachira, but he liked listening to his boyfriend’s commentary.

“I suppose- though I guess in real life if I were being chased by a serial killer, I’d probably panic too.” Isagi winced when said killer finally caught up with the woman, bringing down her demise in a rather gruesome manner. “Told you.”

“Ew.” Bachira made a face, turning his face further into Isagi’s thigh as the scene played out. “Gross. Why’d we choose this movie again?”

“I can put something else on?” Isagi offered, looking for the remote.

“Nah, nah- it’s fine.” Bachira smiled, nuzzling his face further into Isagi’s thigh. “Besides- you can protect me from all the bad stuff in the movie right?”

“Of course I can.” Isagi declared proudly, trying not to let his voice crack at the sudden tickle shooting up his leg. “Nothing scares me! I can take on any monster there is!”

“Any monster?” Bachira asked, scooting upward so he was halfway in Isagi’s lap, turning to look up at him.. “Frankenstein?”

“I’ll undo all his stitches!” Isagi nodded confidently.

“A Mummy?”

“I’ll tug his wrappings and send him spinning like a top!”

“Dracula?”

“Hm..that one might be tough.” Isagi thought about it. “Garlic. And holy water.”

“How will you get holy water?” Bachira asked, intrigued.

“By boiling the hell out of it.” Isagi giggled at his dumb joke, laughing even more when Bachira snorted. “But yeah! I can take on any monster- bring them on!”

“Any monster, eh?” Bachira was grinning now, the mood shifting as he scooted up to be in line with his belly. “Okay Monster Hunter- how about the greatest monster of them all?”

“Greatest monster?” Isagi asked, unintentionally sealing his fate.

“The monster feared by all the land…the TICKLE MONSTER!” Bachira dived forward, blowing the biggest raspberry he could against Isagi’s clothed belly. The brunette let out a shocked yelp of laughter, arching against the couch. It lasted two seconds before his back slammed into the cushions once more, bubbly laughter spilling over his lips as Bachira’s hands worked his sides.

“Ah! Ahehahahahahhhaha! B-Bahahahhahchira, dohohohoohohon’t!” Isagi giggled out, grabbing his boyfriend’s wrists weakly. “Cohoohohohme ohohoohon, noohohoohohoho fahahahhahhair!”

“No fair? But you said you could take on any monster!” Bachira giggled as he pushed his boyfriend down onto his side, worming one hand up his shirt while the other continued lightly pinching and prodding his waist. “Don’t tell me you were lying?”

“Ohoohoohohf cohohohoohuse nhoohohohoht!” Isagi cackled as he rolled on his back, squeaking upon feeling Bachira’s fingers on his belly. “I juhuhuuhust wahahhahhsn’t prhehehehhpahahahhahred!”

“Uh huh. Sure you weren’t~” Bachira cooed, delight in his eyes at Isagi’s smiling face. “All the monsters you claim you can take, but the tickle monster isn’t one of them? Shame, Isagi, shame! Looks like we’ll have to get you ready!” He leaned in so his mouth was inches from the other’s ear, hands working random patterns and shapes against his skin. “Unless you want the big bad tickle monster to keep on tickling you. I bet you like this, huh?”

“Bahahhahahahahhachirahhahahahahaha!” Isagi squealed, lightly pushing at Bachira’s shoulders as the other’s hands found his hips, squeezing rhythmically. His face flushed an impressive shade of red, eyes squeezed shut as Bachira continued whispering dastardly teases in his ear. “Dohoohohoohon’t shahahahahhahy thahahhhahahat! Geahhahahahahahaa! Not fhahahahahhair!”

“The tickle monster doesn’t play fair, Isagi~” Bachira cooed, blowing a raspberry against Isagi’s cheek before ducking his head down, kissing beneath his jaw. His hands relocated to Isagi’s sides, going right for his lower ribs just to hear him scream. “The tickle monster only plays to win.”

“BAHHHAHAHHAHCHIRAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Isagi shrieked, his squirms increasing against the couch when his worst spots were being attacked. Flailing, kicking his feet, trying to tickle him back- nothing worked against Bachira like this. He was effectively trapped. “OOHOHOHOKAY! OHHOOHOKAY YOU WIHIHIIHN NOW STAHHAHAHAP!”

“I did? Yay!” Bachira cheered, his hands retreating along with his face as he watched Iagi gasp for air. Leaning in so his chin rested against his balled fists, he blinked sweetly up at his boyfriend, giggling when the other glared. “You’re cute when you're all red like that, you know? Like a strawberry.”

“Wh-What? Ugh.” Isagi flopped back down, unable to stay mad as he felt Bachira snuggle into him. “You’re such a dork, you know that?”

“Yep!” Bachira replied, popping the ‘p’. “I’m your dork!”

“So you are.” Isagi rolled his eyes fondly, running his fingers through Bachira’s hair. Just then, a woman screamed; yet another victim to the movie killer. Bachira yelped and buried his face into Isagi’s chest, hiding from the scene. “Can we watch something else? I hate gore.”

“On it.” Isagi didn’t need to be told twice, grabbing the remote and exiting out of the movie. “Is Kiki’s Delivery Service alright with you?”

“Perfect.” Bachira smiled, snuggling in as the music played, letting himself get lost in the story.

Thanks for reading!

[soul-dwelling-not]

Ignorant ranting about Tales of the TMNT, the latest addition to the Mutant Mayhem iteration of Ninja Turtles, an iteration I never got into, and based on just rushing through parts of the series:

What's the point of stunt casting if all they are going to do is make pigeon noises? The payoff does not help.

If you're going to cast Jackie Chan for the film but not the TV series, or a voice double like James Sei, what is the point of now having him speak vermin? Are you trying to say something meaningful about assimilation, or did you just really not want to cast a Chinese actor and thereby erase Chinese representation in the cast or any

I really hate how much talking this series has: it's animation, focus on animation.

I know this is Titmouse, I know I enjoy recent Beavis and Butthead, but why do the humans have to look so much like Beavis designs? I can appreciate leaning into the Motorcity action and aesthetic--but that show at least knew when to have characters shut up for a minute and let the animation do its job.

We really needed to do stupid "pigeon poop" jokes over and over and over again?

I hate when characters do something foolish for the sake of an unfunny gag: that Leo didn't figure out the gentrified restaurant was indeed not Bishop's lair is a dumb gag.

"You're not paranoid--" I am admittedly entering into that joke out of context, but it didn't work for me: either really lean into April being the one to believe every single conspiracy theory, or just don't have her use that line.

I am so tired of the insult "Nerd!" as a punchline, especially to undermine anything heartfelt Leo says at the end of one arc. Just let a moment of sincerity stand, not every last moment has to be destroyed by, "LOL, you love to hear yourself talk, huh?"

The same nerd insult applies when talking about Don, to keep reducing Don to just "nerd" or just "anime nerd." I should be grateful that this is a step up from Jellystone levels of "LOL, body pillows, shut-ins, friendless losers" representations of animation fans (especially as none of this feels like the animators being self-deprecating: instead of "we are nerds, we can joke about ourselves," it's the same tired level of "nerds are losers, geeks are losers, fans are losers, how pathetic they must be").

Stop making Bishop anti-mutant. Please get back to 2003 Bishop in terms of motivation. I appreciated 2003 Bishop's entire attitude pretty much being, "Mutants? I don't care about mutants! I want aliens!" I would have so preferred that characterization: have her be someone fixated on one task, then have her just get annoyed that, instead of aliens, it's mutants. Think Dandadan levels of trying to one-up which is more engaging, the sci-fi or the mystical.

Also, all of this applies to the Earth Protection Force. Maybe additional stories will surprise me, seeing as it will resonate with an audience that an organization looks at native-born people--and still thinks they are "foreign," "other," someone to get rid of.

Acknowledging that Leo was on a shaggy dog hunt does not change that the story is stretching out the plot for the sake of the streaming era.

Bringing back the proto-Rat King intended for the film as a gangster is kind of boring. Granted, TMNT adaptations keep struggling to make the character work or have some core qualities beyond "sway over rats": Mirage was a force of nature but vague enough that you can read him a number of ways; IDW leans too much into godlike power; 1987 was just a guy; 2003 was just an extension of Bishop; 2012 should work with Combs in the role but still takes too long and keeps abusing the Kraang mutagen as a plot device to get whatever result you want for the sake of the story.

[lollytea]

So, I‘ve been blessed with the opportunity to reread every fucked up movie post, and… does Camila know it exists and that her kids made it? And if she does, did she watch it? Because I can just imagine her handing off the cam like aw, look at them having fun and being creative :) thinking it‘s gonna be something like most „movies“ shot by kids - something that was fun to make, but doesn‘t really have anything else going for it. And meanwhile, Movie by Gus13 exists.

Camila was probably invited to the grand premiere of Gus's fucked up movie, which was just the cast, herself and Vee all huddled together on the living room couch. She was honored to attend! She thought Gus making a little movie was adorable and it was just so sweet how the other kids all particpated!

But then they pressed play and Camila. Was. Horrified.

Where the fuck do you think that grey streak in her hair came from? That was all Gus's fucked up movie's doing.

But it's like....as disturbed as she was, Camila sat through the whole thing because Gus and the others had worked so hard on it and she didn't want to hurt their feelings. But then it was over and she wanted to cry....or scream....or hurl. Or all three. But the kids all turned to her expectantly, eager to hear her thoughts and Vee was giving her a pointed look to please be nice so she just had to grit her teeth and smile like "it was...wonderful :))))))"

Camila simply never speaks of Gus's fucked up movie ever again. She doesn't rewatch it, she doesn't think about it, she represses everything about it.

She's not exactly tech savvy so I don't see her ever stumbling upon the online mystery. So she mostly remains in blissful ignorance that it's this whole thing.

At one point, there's these conspiracy theorists who have visited Gravesfield for their YouTube documentary on Gus's fucked up movie and they're interviewing random citizens about the film. Camila is stopped outside the supermarket and they start bombarding her with questions and she's mostly bewildered and has no idea what they're talking about. That is until one of them pulls out their phone and opens it up on the movie and shows it to Camila. Literally the first five seconds before anything even happens induces a visceral reaction. Camila freaks out, slapping the phone out of the kid's hand, yells "NO! NOT AGAIN!! NEVER AGAIN!!" And hurries away without further comment.

Camila's freakout is included in the YouTube video once it's posted and this only ADDS to the insane amount of theories. Some people think her reaction is really suspicious. She's a local after all so she must know something. Why was she playing dumb at first? She clearly knew exactly what the movie was. Could it be....the origins of the movie are something far more sinister than we could ever imagine....are the people of Greavesfield hiding something from us? 😱 (NOT CLICKBAIT)

[opinated-user]

I mean. I knew Lily was ignorant and dumb but this hay’s code thing is another level. Alright gonna out myself, I’m a film major mostly in production and theory. Now the code was implemented in 1934 (though some say 1933). And it didn’t end (well there are debates as to whether we count the actual enforcement or the fact while the code existed but wasn’t enforced) until 1968. A 34-35 year not ten… 34-35 years of enforcement.

During that time there were directors who did sneaky things to fight back against the code. Have multiple kisses shorter than 3 seconds. Have suggestive imagery but blame the dirty thinking on the agent who saw the film to ensure the code was followed. And countless other examples. Not to mention the red scare also Played a BIG part of enforcement. The MPAA has done some things (like granting films with LGBT themes R ratings a rating with that excludes a lot of people) but it’s not as bad as the Hays Code who thought interracial love stories were a big no no, and in 1968 Star Trek had an interracial kiss that said F U to Jim Crow and Hays Code era thinking

my point was more going through the notion that even if it was "only 10" years that it was enforced, that's still a lot of movies, directors and creative people who saw all their hard work go to waste because it didn't meet some ridiculous criteria. for as many success stories you can count of people creatively managing to get around the hays code, there's as much if not way more stories of people and movies that never got made and no one saw. that's a tragedy, whether we're speaking 10 years, 5 years or the actual 30+ years that it was. a human being could have been born and die without ever seeing nothing else but hay's approved movies. it's a tragedy that something so simple and basic like a kiss between two people had to be revolutionary at all, it's disgusting that anyone ever said that two people shouldn't kiss because of racism. especially when we know that before that code existed, movies with queer people being queer already existed and they disappeared for 30+ years. some of them have been erased entirely. i don't understand how anyone can say that blaming the code hays or being mad about it is not only fair, but completely logical. it's not only deeply ignorant from her part to minimize the impact this had on cinema, but it's repugnant considering this is the same thing that LO always does: blame the individuals, never the institutions. the code hays was never implemented, but if it was then it wasn't a big deal and if it did it doesn't matter because these other movies came out, meaning that if your movie didn't it can only be your fault and not the people who enforced those absurd rules in the first place. it's not the fault of Disney that people are done with their "a person close to the production" always goes to the media to try to hype up movies around "our first ever gay character". it's the media, and the people who read that media, on the wrong because they just like to hate disney. it wasn't the fault of Disney's homophobia that TOH was cancelled, everyone just wants to hate Disney for no reason. it wasn't the fault of Netflix's tendencies of cutting queer shows short, the cancellation of First Kill was entirely because it was a "enemy to lovers" sapphic story. it wasn't the fault of Nickelodeon that the production of LOK was a mess, it was the writers and the people involved the only responsible because they should have known better, somehow. it wasn't the fault of Cartoon Network that SU went into hiatus more frequently than any other show at the time, no matter what the people who actually work for the company could say. it was the fault of Sugar for not magically knowing that a hiatus was coming and writing around it somehow. it's always the creative individual people who have the fault, not the companies who used them and disposes them whenever they please for whatever purpose. why do you think she doesn't speak about the big cut of HBO more? why do you think she isn't angry about how CN treated any other show that wasn't Teen Titans Go like utter trash? why is that when she wants to talk about WOW, she still talks far more about her white fantasy favourite female character being mistreated by a mere novelist writer than about the actual victims of harassment from the company?

because LO, for all her talk of being the only good leftist left, it's a capitalist anti-intellectual convenient tool whose true feelings will always have more in common with conservatives that she'd like to admit it.

[sinister-surname]

Right, so, about to start off this horror blog by shitting on some of the most beloved and acclaimed modern horror movies... Because I am a smart person.

So something I should state right off the bat for this blog is I'm a huge proponent of the Slasher genre because unlike a lot of genres of horror I feel like it's the one that does the best job both sharing some sort of message while still being entertaining and, another thing you should know about me, I think it's a good movie's job to entertain. Entertaining an audience is a good idea because A: They may actually stick around long enough to digest the thematic elements of your movie and B: Good movies can tell a message and entertain, the two are not mutually exclusive.

Take for example what I think is the best and my favourite horror movie, Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's an hour and a half long and it's a non-stop fucking roller-coaster and I got the message of the movie the first time watching.

Compare that to my least favourite horror film, Suspiria 2018. That movie is an entire hour longer and after finally slogging through it I had absolutely zero clue what I just watched. I'm not ignorant to feminist theory which, like... I think (?) was what that movie was going for, but even without the fact that that movie put me to sleep even upon critical analysing I still didn't get it. And yeah, call me a big gay dumb dumb with a pumpkin for a face but the fact is that movies CAN convey their message without having to be picked apart and analysed, if they're not up their own ass.

And there we see the advantage of the Slasher, the genre that is unashamed of what makes it unique and has retroactively benefitted over time for its earnesty.

[clt009-wearehere]

Okay I’m going to let my autistic freak flag fly and dive headlong into full “taking out the irony to engage with the question at face value” for a hot second.

This is actually a good illustration of how deconstructionist and genre-savvy stories and films have gotten so tiring. Characters encounter a “stock” conflict or scare opportunity, roll their eyes and are all “Yeah right, how dumb do they think we even ARE??” and either proceed to ignore the thing or - worse - do it anyway because of some contrivance.

Like, yes, we the audience can hear the soundtrack with its musical stings. We can see the hook-handed, ski-masked killer standing behind them. We know the title, we’ve seen the opening credits, we’ve watched a movie. But the characters don’t. They’re supposed to be human. And humans are neither rational nor actively expecting to be in a horror film.

There are criticisms you can make of any story. And there are a lot of ways that horror can be badly written. Joss Whedon sucks hot rotten eggs but Cabin in the Woods still makes a fair point about how we the audience are ready and morbidly DETERMINED to see teenager characters be exploited, sexualized and then brutalized for the crimes of being young and horny. Only the thinnest pretext that ‘They could’ve avoided this if they weren’t so dumb and hormonal’ offered to assuage at potential guilt. (And don’t forget, in CitW, those characters were lured in to be sacrificed and were given an entire armory of cursed artifacts to do so.)

The particular American brand of horror movie - the one where there’s an isolated location, a preternatural killer, and some young people who mostly exist to die, still has some resonance no matter how many versions we make. It’s not just because it’s fun for people to imagine ‘dumb kids’ getting butchered after they get their nips out. In theory, it’s also the cathartic exploration of “what if I and my friends were assaulted by something horrible and predatory during the most vulnerable part of our lives while trapped in the most vulnerable possible location?”

Because fear is always close. The world feels large and hostile and uncertain. There ARE predators out there in the shadows who DO look for victims to make one single mistake; it’s just that the older you get, the more you understand that those predators usually don’t use masks and machetes. The world and the future are uncertain and that’s TERRIFYING. Exploring the shadows in a safe environment- one behind the screen - can paradoxically help remind us that life isn’t ONLY shadows and hellfire. That the fear has a shape, and that even merely witnessing it can help us to better understand it - and by understanding learn to overcome it.

And to dismiss that completely and to say, in so many words “stupid kids should’ve known better than to touch the cursed artifact” or whatever - and then you make an episode or even a whole film about it - is exhausting. Thank you. Maybe next time you can actually try telling a story.

people are so mean about horror movie victims like. sorry but if i had gone to a cabin in the woods with my friends as a teenager you couldn't have stopped us from reading aloud from the evil tome. how were they supposed to know the ancient curse was real they're like 17

[nichavez]

Nick,

If you don’t mind, I have some thoughts regarding a lot of the criticism I’ve surrounding Monsters and you and Cooper that I’m gonna dump here really quick because they’ve been sitting my mind for too long :)

For starters, a part of me is just really confused as to why so many people are treating the show like it’s meant to be a shot-for-shot replication of what actually happened in the case? Because I don’t think it was ever intended to be. Forgive me if I’m wrong, but, from my perspective, the show is less of the story of the brothers, and more of the story of their case? And yeah while the brothers’ story (which mind you is the reality that I wholeheartedly believe, and) is incredibly important, it wasn’t the ONLY perspective that was flying around at the time. 

I just think it’s very very clear that any suggestion the show makes of a reality that is different from what the brother’s stated in the trial, is very explicitly an exploration of the massive amount of “ifs” that were flying around during the time. In fact I think Cooper said something similar in an interview somewhere.

What I seriously don’t get is why people are so pissed off at the depiction of Dominic Dunne’s “inc*st” theory, but the part of the show where the brothers dressed up in black jumpsuits to commit the murder like freaking cartoon assassin characters, is firmly understood as the show showing a fictional theory. Like, both are just two different theories that Dunne had at the time, and was either talking about to others or publishing about at the time; if a show is trying to capture the story of every aspect of the trial, then public perception is only naturally going to play a role in that.

Now I’m not dumb, I’m sure another big reason it was put in was because shock value. Was the scene really necessary? Probably not.

But, leading into my second point, I’m actually upset that the scene was put in, because the shock value of scenes like that, make it so that many people end up remembering the show purely based on those moments. Which genuinely sucks because it is so so so much more than that.

One thing that really stood out to me was just, purely the way so much of it was filmed. I mean it’s this highly saturated, exaggerated aesthetic of golden perfection that’s almost overly cinematic at times, I mean it really does not feel like a documentary at all; it feels like a film.

But the whole show isn’t like that. And I feel like the shiny scenes are so effective, not because they glorify the brothers’ story, but because of how fucking jarring they make the heaviest scenes of the show, which are stripped of this aesthetic. I mean the biggest stand out is obviously Cooper’s scene in “The Hurt Man”, like the color grading on the entire shot is just this empty, cottony grey that’s so barren, and like there’s sunlight on his face but it’s lost that pretty golden tone to it completely, and you can just see every shadow and crease of tiredness on his face. It’s just it’s such a startling contrast because of the picture perfect light we’ve become used to seeing him in. So those details coupled with his performance which is just, I don’t even really have words for it I really don’t. It truly just disturbs you to your very core when you watch that scene and, in that moment, come to the same realization that I believe many people at the time realized during their trial, of just how damaged this person who you thought had this perfect life, how damaged and hurt he really is.

That’s why I truly hate it when people chalk the show up to it’s less savory moments, because it completely ignores moments like these.

And while I could go on for hours about all of these scenes and interactions that people seem to just gloss over, I want to talk about the second to last scene for a moment because it has to do with you.

I’ve seen so many comments online critiquing your portrayal of Lyle as mischaracterized, overly aggressive, etc like, you get the general idea. But I honestly don’t understand how someone could watch your performance in that second to last scene, and come away from the show with any impression other than a crippling understanding of just how much Lyle loved his brother. Like in the first half of the scene you can see how just… tired, you are. Where Cooper’s confused, startled even, you almost seem to know what’s happening, with this like heavy, mournful acceptance in your expression. Yet still when he’s about to step into his van and he spots you, you give him that small nod of comfort. And maybe it’s because I’m an older sibling, but like in that moment I was just flooded with this horrible feeling of pure empathy, because I knew in that moment that I’ve had to give my little brother that nod before. And I’ve had to do the lean over that you do to check on Cooper in the other van, and give that smile of assurance even though you know that things really aren’t okay, and I remember having to close my laptop and remind myself to breathe from how hard I was crying when I watched that scene because while there’s others in the show, that’s one of the most prominent moments where it really hits you just how much these two had to let go of, and how much they’ve suffered.

And where something more sanitized and by-the-book something like a documentary has the informative advantage, that scene just makes you realize how human these people are. Because it’s different than just being able to understand and acknowledge their struggle and pain, it’s being able to feel even a shard of it within your own self, that level of empathy is a true feat to achieve. 

So yeah, I think it’s really easy for people to nitpick the show for its mistakes, which mind you, it has its fair share. But I truly do believe it does its job in telling the story from the perspective of the middle man, and embodies the phrase “don’t shoot the messenger.” And the fact that despite this unbiased approach, you still leave the show feeling the unjustness of their case, I think that goes to show more than anything that the show is anything but against the brothers. 

Anyway, sorry for the long ass ask I just had a lottt of thoughts on this. I totally understand if the topic is something you’d rather avoid, I mean having only looked at the case for a few weeks even I know it’s truly a devastating world to immerse yourself in, let alone for a year. But I’m curious if even on a high level, you agree or disagree with anything above? Lots of love <3

Hello there sweetheart! Sorry it took me a bit to answer. I've been quite busy this week. Wow, you've got yourself a looong message and the honestly, your insight is really beautiful and extremely well written. Thank you for taking the time to share it, we appreciate the way you put out your thoughts to us.

Cooper totally agrees with you, I myself would rather not comment much on this topic as I've said before, solely because the show is open to interpretation and I don't want to influence the viewers on it. However it's been out for a while and it seems that progress has been made from every side of the media.

You know, Ryan Murphy is well known to put the public eye on a hook, with contorversial ways he tells the stories. I agree with the part that the show is solely to put the information out there, in a cinematic and dramatized version of the reality by others portrayal. Ryan knew well before the filming that this was probably going to happen, he let us know the risks of these roles before moving forward and we still believed that the story had to be told. Hope this answers your question. Have a lovely weekend.

[lodzianix]

8 1/2: im sorry. i really am. it just. didnt connect with me enough. maybe i just dont love cinema enough. maybe im not at the right place mentally to watch it. the struggles of the main character didnt really resonate with me i guess, not being a washed up depressed artist struggling to find inspiration. i did see and appreciate the symbolism (although im certain tons of it flew over my head) and characters' (esp women's) beauty (seriously the costumes? really enjoyable). i know the music is iconic. i know its influencial to the cinema. i just. i dont know. i get how you idealise the past and look into it for inspiration and even narrate your own life as a piece of art youre creating to milk any sort of creation out of it and i get the addiction and idealisation of women searching, constantly searching for the one and i get (although admittedly, through a second hand experience) how tiring the show business is and how loud and how demanding and how it all, the expectations, the stakes, how it all contrasts with this slower, more somber reality of forcing your barren brain to birth something. just something more. preferably, something genius since everyone expects it out of you anyways. maybe i shouldve watched more of fellinis movies beforehand. or more movies in general dsbjds. it simply didnt connect with me, i didnt really. feel it. im not taking away everything this film has to offer (as a cultural ignorant the score really surprised me. i was like. oh wait i know that song) but it simply wasnt something for me. i get how its the point for the main character to be so unpleasant but i just found him borderline annoying. oh look at him so depressed and lost and looking for the meaning of the art he once loved but now cant find it anymore. boohoo. sorry babe i cant find your sad relationships with women sympathetic when youre being such a misogynist about it. its just too icky to me. i did find the whole "you just cant help but lie" thing wildly stimulating, how he just cant help but create stories. and i know how the whole meta thing was revolutionary but i just couldnt help but roll my eyes a tiny baby little bit. yes i get it im the critic from the beginning sorry babyboy but it just wasnt for me, call me too dumb for artistic cinema and get on with it. its even more frustrating because in theory i should really like this film because i relate to some of the struggles presented and i like them as concepts. maybe i need time with it, maybe the form wasnt palatable to my tastes. idk. i feel like if i sit more with it, dive into it deeper i'll like it more. but for now, for what it presented to me, i just didnt really love it. it wasnt bad, it just. didnt charm me like it so obviously did to all the other cinephiles